Halfway through 2.14 and I feel like it's gone off on a weird tangent, economics-wise. There's been (possible mild spoilers):
- SilTek telling Nathan to run the Alliance like a business, because the profit-motive is good, or less corrupt, or something; he doesn't really seem to argue with this
- The Paleans (and others) agreeing to a deal with the devil (Lord Dusahn) for promises of "jobs and growth"
- Nathan deciding that ideals, mutual protection, sharing of advanced technology, and charisma won't win worlds over to the Alliance, but promises of prosperity/wealth will
- The Dusahn deciding basically the same thing, except with the first four items replaced with "overwhelming military force" which, despite the story's assertions to the contrary, they still seem to have in spades (e.g. Haven, and the repeated waves of jump-missile attacks)
- Nathan contemplating coexistence with the Dusahn, with or without some form of economic embargo (which is itself described as tantamount to war), after the sort of atrocities they've pulled (and continued to pull)
- The Glendanon having a board of investors who must be consulted with now before Nathan does anything with the ship (and if they don't agree, that's just TS for the Alliance I guess; but they were apparently fine with him using it as a makeshift shield for the Aurora so long as he covers the operational costs, so...?)
- Probably several other passages that muse about the importance of trade/the economy/prosperity/etc.
It all feels a bit incongruous with the other books. Which, while I'm sure they touched on the subject too, never did so in quite as pervasive/serious a way. More like "We need a bunch of shiny new SilTek gear but we're broke AF; I know, I'll bluster and gamble my way into it!".
More than that though, it just feels a bit too close to a commentary on current events. And maybe it is. Or maybe it subconsciously is. But for me at least it makes the story feel political, which takes a lot of the enjoyment out of it. I read these books for fun and epic space battles in a galaxy far, far away, not for explanations/examples of why people are willing to (openly or tacitly) support/tolerate a monster so long as it puts money in their pockets every once in awhile. Real life has plenty of that already. 🙁
Tanna's fuel funded the Early Sol Alliance in Part 1, Deliza's company was bank rolling the Karazari Alliance in Early Part 2. This episode is just a little more on the nose. War costs money.
War has other costs too, in lives, livelihoods, and living standards, which is why you see some nations fighting wars on distant shores, rather than there own.
The Glendanon's owners couldn't influence the ship while the Dushan held Takara and Corinair and the ship was out of communication with the owners, now Corinair is free, that changes things. They didn't allowed the Karazari to use the ship, the captain did. But the ship was kept free of the dushan, its upkeep was maintained and it didn't cost them anything in the meantime.
It is not as heavy handed as Atlas Shrugged but it is there. Depending on view most books have a bit of a bend, I do not think it is possible to write a 75 book series without delving into economics and politics, considering that the series is all about war, which is politics and economics by another name.
I wasn't a big fan of this episode, but I think Ryk was trying lead the readers to a potential compromise to move forward both for the planets doing business with the dushan and for the Karuzari to make progress.
Then, as many events unfold, ranging from Lord Dushan actions and the loss of Loki, the KA realizes that there cant be any compromise, thus the "line in the sand".
my opinion... Yes, there are alot of parallels with events all over the world. In history, most protracted conflicts have points where one or all sides, consider how to cease hostilities (economic being one of the key discussion points). Sometimes there's a compromise, other times there's no end until one side capitulates or is destroyed. Honestly, to go through the detail in this story over 75 books, there had to be a point where this topic would have come up. It's not a popular topic, but one that should be discussed, if one is going to ground this novel to reality.
Anyway, it will be interesting as to where the story goes now. Looking forward to the chapter.
"Long live the Ghatazhak!"
While I'm certain that current events will always seep into story lines, I don't ever do it consciously. I'm just not interested in sharing my own political views with anyone. And Nathan isn't at all like me, I promise you that. (If he was, you probably wouldn't like him, cuz I'm a bit of an arrogant ass at times.)
"Running the Alliance like a Business" doesn't really mean "profit." I think the concept came from my ambulance days, when I was negotiating our first labor contract. Our employer made a statement that I'll never forget. "If we don't make enough money to pay the bills, we won't be able to save any lives." I think good governments are run like good businesses. The well-being of the business provides for the well-being of its employees. I think the "economics" angle is necessary, otherwise all the alliance would be is a "protection racket."
The goals of the Alliance are to promote peace and prosperity across all civilizations. To do so will require ships and the infrastructure to support them. Economics is a part of it. This ain't Star Trek, where they can build all the ships they want and not have to worry about the costs.
As for the Glendanon, she was originally paid by the Sol-Pentaurus Alliance to run cargo to Earth from the Pentaurus sector to help in the rebuilding of Earth and its defense. After that, she went back to running cargo for profit within the Pentaurus sector. Her captain chose to pledge his ship to the Karuzari rebellion when Corinair was conquered by the Dusahn. Not much sense in handing the ship over to the Dusahn, as the Glendanon's owners wouldn't make any money from it anyway. In fact, the best chance the Glendanon's owners had of ever seeing any more revenue from their investment was to help in the effort to kick the Dusahn off of Corinair. But once that was done, the captain of the Glendanon had a responsibility to his employer. Pretty simple, really.
Your comment regarding current events slipping into your stories, however unintentional, immediately got me to thinking of your other comments about finishing up the Fall of the Core and releasing it as a complete book following the release of Part II - Book 15. I desperately look forward to that and think it would make a wonderful Holiday present for all of us. I love the character of Hanna Bohl. But as I recall, you had said you were going to rework the story some and what I thought you would likely do is purposely add in some of how our societies around the world have reacted to this real pandemic. And if you were so inclined, add in some of your own frustrations or observed leadership qualities within our world leaders, assuming you have them and put them in. Hide them within some of the characters of the story. Love them or hate them, sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.
Until then, I hope the absolute best for Hanna, Arielle, and Graham.
This question is, ahem, a bit off topic, but what is it with commenters having rank, aka, Juan C. Valentin, Lieutenant, Aroth, a Lieutenant JG, Gary, a Commander etc?
